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Yes, Gabe did in fact watch this 3D concert, and yes, he did in fact survive...

Feature

Let me just preface this by saying I didn’t want to watch Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert, but I felt an obligation to the folks at Disney to at least give it a whirl (after all, these are the people that decide whether or not I get an advanced Blu-ray copy of Wall-E or Sleeping Beauty). I also can’t judge the kids of today and their musical tastes, because mine were even worse at their age (or so at least I’m assuming. Hannah Montana fans are like five to ten right?). The first cassette tape I ever owned was the New Kids on the Block’s first album (I think it was ironically called ‘Hanging Tough’). In honest comparison Hannah Montana frickin’ rocks (though her appearance has put Billy Ray Cyrus back into the public eye, which should count against her).

For starters I’m given a choice between the 2D and 3D version of the film. Well that’s hardly even a choice is it? Who wouldn’t go with the 3D version? A Nazi, that’s who, and I love America far too much to risk a boring 2D viewing of the nation’s favourite faux rock star. Needless to say, I went with the American choice. Unfortunately this is the old-school red/blue 3D that will give you a blinding headache in ten minutes flat. I was hoping that the new polarized 3D would work in high definition.

The first shock comes about mere minutes into the film. After a single musical number, we cut to behind the scenes footage…in 3D. Wait, what? I though this was a concert film, now it’s a documentary? And I’m watching behind the scenes footage in 3D? Ok, I’ll go with it.

I don’t think it’s working correctly. Oh wait, this part isn’t in 3D.

The second shock (of only two shocks) comes when I realize Miley Cyrus is actually singing, not lip-syncing. I thought all pop stars lip-synced in concert. Look at her, she’s running all over that stage and still singing in (relative) tune. Sure, I can hear her gasping for breath a bit, but that’s still very impressive. She’s actually a pretty fantastic showgirl (not that kind of showgirl). She engages the crowd better than half the acts I’ve ever seen on stage. There’s no comparing the music, but Miley Cyrus is a regular James Brown. I’m impressed, especially after just watching the Rolling Stones sleep walk through Shine a Light.

Video

It seems that even in high-definition red/blue 3D doesn’t really work. I mean, it kind of works, but the colour is sucked out of everything, leaving a red tint in place, and edges lose a lot of definition, especially when something or someone gets too close to camera (the birds-eye of the drummer tossing his drumstick doesn’t work at all). Wide shots taken from the back of the stadium looking back at the stage work the best, displaying some real depth into the set, but things coming out of the set just look like a doubled image. The non-3D stuff, and the 2D version of the film, looks pretty much perfect, because it was all filmed using gigantic, state of the art, high-def cameras and appropriately transferred to disc. The only limitations appear when the lighting is less then ideal, which is almost exclusively during the behind the scenes sequences.

Audio

It’s concert movie, and listening to this DTS-HD Master Audio track sounded a whole lot like being in a concert (though the extra two channels of the 7.1 mix were lost on me). The sound designers mostly leave things natural, as they’d be heard during the concert (unlike Martin Scorsese, who turned up what ever instrument was centred in frame), but they take a couple of effective liberties, such as a pick scrape that rides right to left in the rear channels. The guitars, drums, and vocals are all expertly mixed, but the bass tends to go missing on many tracks. The LFE track is mostly devoted to the kick drum, which pumps without bleeding or warbling. The screaming fans in the rear channels get a little annoying by the second or third song, but they aren’t too high on the track.

Extras

First up on the extras menu is one Jonas Brother’s song that is much more interesting than the ones that made the film, and one addition Miley Cyrus song. This is followed by a sing along option for every song, which is only available in 2D mode. The rather miniscule extras are completed with a basic EPK masquerading as a behind the scenes featurette. I’m guessing the eleven-minute featurette was made for the Disney channel. It’s not worthless, especially not to the little ones that should be watching it. Cyrus is sure to make the behind the scenes experience clear to her fans, and makes the difficulty of the process clear.

Overall

I’m not the target audience, but I will say that some of Miley Cyrus’ songs were effective power-pop and ’80s electronica throwbacks, and surprisingly dark. Some even have a cool Spaghetti Western flavour. It’s certainly better music then New Kids on the Block. The Hannah Montana stuff was tolerable, but the Jonas Brothers were terrible. The concert itself is a little too bright and shiny for my taste, but the effort put into the stage show, the musicianship, and Cyrus’ generally impressive stage presence was enough to make the experience not entirely unpleasant. Now lets just hope her daddy Billy Ray is a better influence on his kid then Dina Lohan or Lynne Spears, and maybe this kid will make something of genuine value when she grows up and gets all angsty.

Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.

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You know, I have a 10 year old niece who I have raised since birth. I picked this up for her as an early Christmas present AFTER catching it on TV. I may not agree with some of the things Miley Cyrus has done (i.e. Vanity Fair photos), but in my little girl's eyes, she is a role model. My niece doesn't watch the news. She doesn't know about said photos, or whatever antics she had displayed over the past year. All she knows is the character of Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart depicted on the TV show. After seeing the concert for myself, I found it to be a great celebration of youth. The songs are clean-cut and inspiring, infusing certain morals in young girls (i.e. "Nobody's Perfect" & "Be Yourself&quot. I think it sends out a great message. Sure Cyrus has a responsibility to her legions of young fans who look up to her, but fact of the matter is, she's still a child herself who had super-stardom literally thrust upon her......and yes, even she is capable of making mistakes.

Ray Waterway wrote: Regardless, I'm a 3D junkie and will more than likely sit down to watch this someday. I just really wish that polarized 3D could be made into a feasible medium for DVD or BR-DVD.

Well, it's not exactly polarized, but there's a device that you can connect between your dvd (or blu-ray player I suspect) player and your tv that lets you watch movies in 3D. The goggles that go with it keep one side open and one side closed, then switch sides. It does this so you see one frame with one eye, then the next frame with the other eye. I don't have this system myself, but I've heard that it works. It's called Virtual FX. The only downside is that it only works with normal tvs because of the constant frame refresh rate. It appearently doesn't work with LCD, plasma and projection type televisions. But this is just a cheap system. I'm sure that there is a better system that works with HD somewhere.

I love the way when a young 'female' star 'falls' they are bad role models and the spawn of satan, yet if a male star does it they are praised as f**king heroes.

Lohan and Britney are 2 20-30 years with more money than God and should be able to go out and have a good time occasionally without being hounded by the meida. If I had that much money I'd be out doing exactly the same as they are. Having fun and enjoying their youth!

You'd swear they were the only 2 young humans on earth who have a few drinks the way people carry on about them. I'm pretty sure about 80 percent of the worlds population who are their age do exactly the same thing.

And as for the whole 'rammed down your throat s**te', I really don't think either of them particularly like being hounded by wankers 24/7 so they can get photos of them. I'm sure they'd much rather be left alone.

Chris Johnson wrote: Chris Gould wrote: I wonder if Billy Ray's heart gets all achy breaky when he sees his daughter dressed like jailbait on stage? I wonder how he feels knowing his daughter is more popular than he ever was. Touche! - made my day with this one!

liono86 wrote: I'm not a Hannah Montana fan, but, I like Miley Cyrus. Hers songs are really catchy and have great beats. That's enough for me. And, I don't think she's THAT scandalous. I just think too many people are soooooooo jealous of a little girl. Yep, yep. How pathetic.

she's really rich and popular and she's just 15, i can admit there's some jealousy there. lol i wouldnt mind being in her shoes....or her.................nah, i should stop there before i go too far but yeah....

oh and to Ray Waterway, i cant speak for Disney Channel since i dont get it but they played her concert on tv a couple weeks ago and it was indeed in 3D, sure it was the c**ppy red/blue glasses style and it didnt even work (yes i tried..lol) but yeah, just wanted to say.

I'm not a Hannah Montana fan, but, I like Miley Cyrus. Hers songs are really catchy and have great beats. That's enough for me. And, I don't think she's THAT scandalous. I just think too many people are soooooooo jealous of a little girl. Yep, yep. How pathetic.

Robert360 wrote: Ray Waterway wrote: What's more disturbing - that we, as a culture, are looking at TV/movie/music stars as role models for our children, or that parents aren't doing enough for their kids so that they are forced to look at these people as role models?

Quote: and it's being crammed down our throats by the media and by Disney.

I hate when people say stuff like that. The only way you could hear about too much Miley Cyrus is if you purposely read or watch something that focuses on her. Maybe you should put down that Star Magazine or US Weekly.

Quote: It's gotten to the point where if I hear another story about her, Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton, I'm going to throw a spike through my television or computer screen, whichever offends me first.

I haven't heard much about Lindsay or Paris lately. Seriously, do you watch stuff like E! network and Entertainment Tonight? Just stop watching it. Those people always focus on popular celebs and Miley happens to be one.

Quote: Regardless, I'm a 3D junkie and will more than likely sit down to watch this someday. I just really wish that polarized 3D could be made into a feasible medium for DVD or BR-DVD.

You could've watched it for free on Disney Channel or Starz.

Quote: And yes, Gabriel - she gets docked serious points for bringing her once-mulleted-now-emo'd-out dad back into the spotlight. Have you seen recent pictures of Billy Ray? It makes me want to laugh hysterically...

No comment.

1) Yes, I know what a role model is. However, in the area of sports and entertainment, it's just sad that society seems to be holding these people up as career templates, and that's just not good.

2) You took apart a sentence that was meant to be taken as a whole. No comment.

3) I don't read US or any of that faux tabloid stuff. I'm just talking about what I have seen on CNN. Also, it's just insane when parents are doing crazy sh*t just to get a $500 ticket to one of her shows.

4) I stay away from E! and Entertainment Tonight. Let's put it this way - I work at a job that pretty much forces the news channels (either CNN, Fox News or MSNBC) to be on during business hours, and when Lohan, Hilton or Cyrus were the "flavor of the week", that's all that would be parroted from the talking heads. It would just be annoying.

5) I rarely watch the Disney Channel, and I highly doubt that they'd be showing the 3D version of this anytime soon. You seem to have missed the whole point of that paragraph.

I have to ask you a question - did you sit down and even think about what I wrote, or did you just react to it, piece by piece? Your "dissection" of what I wrote is just a bunch of thinly-veiled insults, and that has no place in these forums. Do something better with your time.

EDIT: I just realized something... Let me take this time out to welcome the latest troll to DVDActive.

Chris Gould wrote: I wonder if Billy Ray's heart gets all achy breaky when he sees his daughter dressed like jailbait on stage? I wonder how he feels knowing his daughter is more popular than he ever was.

David Blackwell wrote: I wonder if Miley will act in horror films after she turns 18. She will be the time she is 21 when her career is over when her target audience grows out of their Disney phase.

I bought this and Camp Rock on Blu-ray for all for 30 bucks. I got the miley dvd for well um watching her and Camp Rock for Demi Lovato . Yes I'm a horny dirty boy that is 23yrs old lol. Eh I don't care much what they choose to do in their life so blah.

While I am not a fan of hers I will admit she has a great voice and a couple of catchy songs that I do have on my ipods. I do hope she goes through the next few years much more sane than Britney Spears of Lindsay Lohan has because I do see much more potential in her.

Anyone else out there want to see her cover her father's "Achy Breaky Heart"? (doubt it haha)

That's what I like to see, a positive comment. I hope she doesn't turn out like Lindsay and Spears because it's gotten so that people think that famous young females will automatically turn into w***es and druggies and that's not right. That's a bit of a stereotype if you ask me.

While I am not a fan of hers I will admit she has a great voice and a couple of catchy songs that I do have on my ipods. I do hope she goes through the next few years much more sane than Britney Spears of Lindsay Lohan has because I do see much more potential in her.

Anyone else out there want to see her cover her father's "Achy Breaky Heart"? (doubt it haha)

Ray Waterway wrote: What's more disturbing - that we, as a culture, are looking at TV/movie/music stars as role models for our children, or that parents aren't doing enough for their kids so that they are forced to look at these people as role models?

Quote: and it's being crammed down our throats by the media and by Disney.

I hate when people say stuff like that. The only way you could hear about too much Miley Cyrus is if you purposely read or watch something that focuses on her. Maybe you should put down that Star Magazine or US Weekly.

Quote: It's gotten to the point where if I hear another story about her, Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton, I'm going to throw a spike through my television or computer screen, whichever offends me first.

I haven't heard much about Lindsay or Paris lately. Seriously, do you watch stuff like E! network and Entertainment Tonight? Just stop watching it. Those people always focus on popular celebs and Miley happens to be one.

Quote: Regardless, I'm a 3D junkie and will more than likely sit down to watch this someday. I just really wish that polarized 3D could be made into a feasible medium for DVD or BR-DVD.

You could've watched it for free on Disney Channel or Starz.

Quote: And yes, Gabriel - she gets docked serious points for bringing her once-mulleted-now-emo'd-out dad back into the spotlight. Have you seen recent pictures of Billy Ray? It makes me want to laugh hysterically...

What's more disturbing - that we, as a culture, are looking at TV/movie/music stars as role models for our children, or that parents aren't doing enough for their kids so that they are forced to look at these people as role models?

I find Miley Cyrus offensive because, literally, overnight, she became this huge out-of-nowhere success and it's being crammed down our throats by the media and by Disney. It's gotten to the point where if I hear another story about her, Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton, I'm going to throw a spike through my television or computer screen, whichever offends me first. I have heard her sing, and I'm not impressed by it. But at least she has the decency not to lip-synch, which bothered the hell out of me ever since I saw the New Kids on the Block in 1989. All the instruments were tuned to one pitch, but they weren't tuned to the vocal track pitch! It was stupid!

Regardless, I'm a 3D junkie and will more than likely sit down to watch this someday. I just really wish that polarized 3D could be made into a feasible medium for DVD or BR-DVD.

And yes, Gabriel - she gets docked serious points for bringing her once-mulleted-now-emo'd-out dad back into the spotlight. Have you seen recent pictures of Billy Ray? It makes me want to laugh hysterically...

Sam Spade wrote: Great review Gabe. Just feel lucky you didn't have to review as Jonas Brothers movie. Remember back when Disney Channel had Kids Incorporated and The Micky Mouse Club. Those were the days.

Kids Incorporated....ha, i had a huge crush on Jennifer Love Hewitt back then, not that i think shes ugly now she's still yum to the yum but yeah. i recently discovered that Fergie from Black Eyed Peas used to be on there. when i saw footage i actually did remember her. lol

This girls are contracted by Disney, and they tend to want their child actors to be good role models. I'm sure that's part of the deal, and made clear to those people. They were not pleased when those pictures became public, to be sure.

Thanks Gabriel for stating that you aren't in the target demo. Most people (mainly adult males) seem to forget that Hannah Montana is for young females, thus they won't find most or any of it enjoyable. To the people who say she's a bad role model, keep in mind that celebrities don't choose to become role models, they just become role models in the eye of the public. The pictures aren't that bad, I see NORMAL girls her age do that all the time. Just because she's famous doesn't make them wrong. The photo for Vanity Fair was a bit raunchy for her, I'll admit that but that's it. She doesn't dress inappropriately on stage or on the show or anything. How come people keep bring pregnancy into every discussion about her? She's not Jamie Lynn Spears, you guys are smart enough to know they aren't the same person, right? Stop clumping all of the young female celebrities into one category, it's just ignorant and makes you sounds idiotic.

I am not buying this under any circumstances. My sisters don't like Miley Cyrus. Niether do I. The only thing I wouldn't mind seeing Cyrus in is "Bolt," but that's about it. My sisters are more into The Jonas Brothers.

sec127 wrote: dsclass wrote: LOL what makes her a terrible role model ?

have you followed what she does? just go to perezhilton.com or justjared.buzznet.com and find her page and read through it. if i had a kid, i would not want him or her looking up to miley. but whatever lol

dont wanna turn this into a "miley war" here but..lol

she hasnt done anything that most teen girls these days do, the difference is that her stuff makes it to the general public..doesnt change how stupid it is but yeah, i have known and know teen girls in my family who have done and do this sorta stuff all the time....regardless of what someone's opinion is, its just what teen girls do these days.

with that said, you would think after the first "incident", miley would smarten up and if not stop then at least make sure the pictures stay in her possession. i mean she could ruin her career.

but yeah, people shouldnt chastise her as if she's started a trend and others will follow/copy...she's doing what was already happenening before anyone knew she existed.

have you followed what she does? just go to perezhilton.com or justjared.buzznet.com and find her page and read through it. if i had a kid, i would not want him or her looking up to miley. but whatever lol

I am the biggest Miley Cyrus hater oh wait that's not her real name? Also she posted that video making fun of Demi Livato and Selena Gomez. She also took those Vanity Fair photos. I admit before when the movie was out I wasn't a hater and admit the movie was good. But now I think she's awful.